A Big Problem
by forensicsgirl02
Summary: CHAPTER 5 NOW UP! Ryan has to deal with losing his job. CaRWash Please R & R! HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** CSI: Miami belongs to CBS

**Ship:** CaRWash

**Summary:** After a hard case, Ryan lets out his stress by playing a card game. Unbeknowst to him this seemingly harmless card game will lead to bigger trouble affecting everything he cares about. (CaRWash) Chapter 1 & 2 edited.

**AN:** This story is very similar to my previous stories called "A Puzzle" and "Getting Back Up" though it's way better. I want to apologize to those who read my previous stories, for deleting it and cutting it short. I won't be doing it to this story, so don't worry. Anyway, this is for all the CSI:Miami fans out there and to all the CaRWash shippers.

**A Big Problem**

**Chapter 1**

"Mr. Barnett you're prints were found on the knife and you're semen on the child." Horatio said as Calleigh placed the pictures and DNA results on the table.

"I was helping her you know. I was trying to find her parents for her."

"You had no plans of bringing her back to her parents. You were planning on raping her from the very start." Calleigh said.

"Not from the start, but later on." Mr. Barnett said sneering.

"How many others were there?" Horatio asked.

"She's my first actually and possibly the best."

"You're a sick man Mr. Barnett and I am going to personally make sure that you will never get near a child again. Officers, please take Mr. Barnett out of my sight." Horatio said.

Ryan watched the interrogation from the outside and tried to smile, but he just couldn't. He was taken by emotion when he first saw the body of the three year-old girl on the creek lying there. He thought she had drowned, but he found out that she was stabbed too and Alexx also found semen on her. He just couldn't believe how anyone could do something like that. It hit everyone pretty hard. There was suppose to be a little bit of satisfaction and happiness that comes with solving a case, but not this one. He sighed and went back to the lab to finish the paperwork on the case. He was typing up the report when he saw Calleigh talking happily with Jake. He knew that Calleigh had a thing for bad guys, though not intentionally, but he was still a little worried that this might turn out badly. She could... His thoughts were cut short when Eric came in with the rest of the paperwork.

"I thought that these were the rest of the paperwork." Ryan said pointing at the thick folder.

"Unfortunately not." Eric said leaving the room.

Ryan sighed once again and put his feet up on the desk.

"Hey, Ryan." Calleigh said smiling.

Ryan was surprised by Calleigh's sudden appearance that his feet slid off the desk and he fell backwards along with the chair.

"Are you okay?" Calleigh said her smile turning into a worried look as she helped Ryan up.

"I'm fine, thanks." Ryan said as he picked up the chair.

"I have to ask you a favor." Calleigh said smiling.

"Does it have something to do with the case?"

"I wasn't able to get the new autopsy report from Alexx and I was wondering if you could get it for me."

"Sure. Something up?

"Jake's just taking me out for coffee."

"Jake. Something going on between you two?" Ryan said frowning.

"First of, no and second, it's not really any of your business."

"I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Thanks Ryan, but I can look out for myself." Calleigh said.

"Alright. Don't worry about the report I'll get it and file it for you."

"You don't have to file it you know."

"I know, but I'll be here for a while anyway, so I don't mind."

"Thanks Ryan I owe you big time."

"No problem." Ryan said as he watched Calleigh walk towards Jake.

He went to autopsy, but he couldn't get find Alexx, so he tried asking the other ME's if they had it, but they didn't so he tried calling Alexx, but she wasn't answering her cellphone. He already searched the whole place, but he still couldn't find it. Frustrated and already very tired he decided to get back and start typing the report again. He was almost done with the report except for the autopsy results when Eric came in.

"Don't forget the autopsy report." Eric said dumping the folder on the desk.

"You had it all along." Ryan said a bit angrily.

"I was actually nice enough to give it to you before you forgot." Eric said angrily throwing the file to Ryan before heading out the door.

"I didn't forget you know." Ryan said shouting at Eric who was long gone before he could hear it.

After several hours, Ryan was still typing the report and he wasn't even halfway done yet which was probably odd since it what he'd been doing since practically forever. However, he didn't take into account the number of times he was just staring into space or wishing he was doing something else. This time he stopped typing and stared into space again for the thousandth time.

"The hell with this." Ryan said as he stood up and got his car keys and left.

He got in his car and glanced at his watch before starting the engine. Seeing that it was still early, Ryan made a detour to the bar near his apartment. He parked his car and got out feeling better already. This was the first bar he'd been in Miami and the only bar he hung out in. It was different than the other bars in many ways. He opened the bar and smiled seeing Kate, the bartender on duty today. They flirted constantly with each other, though it never went beyond that, but you never know. He took a seat on the counter and whistled to Kate.

"I'm not your dog, Wolfe." Kate said.

"I know and I don't have a dog because you're the only one for me." Ryan said smirking.

"You really are cheesy Wolfe. Do you want the usual?" Kate said wiping one of the beer mugs.

"Nah. Why don't you surprise me instead."

"Ok, then." Kate said getting a beer mug and filling it up and handing it to Ryan.

"This is safe right?" Ryan said glancing at Kate.

"Of course." Kate said smiling.

Ryan took a sip and said, Wow, water I thought this was a bar."

"Well I don't want to have to drive you home again."

"That was one time."

"A very drunk one time might I add where you couldn't even find your car keys and I had to end up using my car which you ended up puking on."

"Ok, it was a one bad time. Are the others at the back?"

"Another hard case?" Kate said with a concerned look.

"Yeah."

"You don't have to join them Ryan. We could just talk." Kate said handing him a beer this time.

"Why don't you join us instead?" Ryan said approaching Kate and kissing her on the cheek and placing his hand on her shoulders.

"I can't, I'm saving my money for a house."

"I don't even know why you want a house, you have a great apartment."

"I want a place with a garden where kids can play." Kate said smiling.

"You'll get that place." Ryan said hugging Kate who was sounding a little emotional.

"I know, thanks."

"Want to hang?"

No, it's ok. The guys are probably waiting for you."

"Alright." Ryan said opening the door to the backroom.

Ryan glanced at Kate worriedly before he shut the door. His worries about Kate were gone, however, but not forgotten when he sat down on the table.

"Who's dealing?" Ryan said getting his money from his wallet.

"Rico, is as usual." Dan said referring to the man with graying blond hair who was shuffling the cards.

"Let's get this on with." Ryan said handing his money to Rico.

After several card games, Ryan stood up and stretched his arms. He was tired and he had the early shift the next day. He really had to get going. He took out his wallet again and asked Rico, "How much do I owe you?"

"You might wanna brace yourself for this."

"Brace myself for what?"

"For how much you owe me."

"Cut the suspense and just tell me. I'm really tired."

"You owe me $10,000."

"Quit joking. How much do I really owe you?"

"I'm not joking."

"Why didn't you tell me I was losing money that fast when we were playing?"

"I did tell you."

"Damnit Rico, we're friends." Ryan said punching the wall.

"Calm down, Ryan."

"Aren't we friends enough for you to just forget about it."

"No, were not."

"You know I don't have that kind of money."

"I'm going to give you all the time you need to get the money."

"It's gonna take me forever to do that."

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me!" Ryan said.

"You made this choice Ryan, not me."

"This isn't over Rico." Ryan said as he left.

**To be continued...**

**AN:** I had a hard time thinking of the end and I don't think that what I came up with the end is that good. Despite that I'm still pleased about how the first chapter turned out. It doesn't matter what I think though, it's your opinions that count, so don't forget to review. Also tell me what you think about the title.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Chapter 2 is finally up. Sorry it took me so long to update, but I had so much schoolwork to do. Anyway thanks to me.fergie and Serienjunkie91 for reviewing, really appreciate it guys. Don't forget to review.

**Chapter 2**

The suns rays shone through the windows waking Ryan up. He groaned and turned to the other side grabbing the pillow and covering his face with it hoping to shield the suns bright rays. Ryan cursed as he felt the first effects of a very painful hangover like a knife stabbing his head. He turned again rumpling the sheets even more, but before he could even close his eyes he heard a loud banging on the door. Choosing to ignore it, Ryan fluffed the pillows up and closed his eyes again, but the banging wouldn't stop. Finally deciding to get up, Ryan pulled on his jeans from yesterday when he realized that he was buck naked. Rushing to the door he pulled it open to find an angry Calleigh.

"Calleigh, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked with a very confused look on his face.

"You're shift started hours ago. Where were you?."

"I thought it was my day off today." Ryan said apologetically.

"It's not, so get dressed." Calleigh said even more angrily.

"Give me fifteen minutes and um...make yourself comfortable." Ryan said as he ran to the bathroom slamming the door.

"Sure." Calleigh said her eyes gazing at the messy living room which had clothes scattered everywhere and the unmistakable smell of alcohol in the air.

Fifteen minutes later

"I'm good to go." Ryan said running his hands over his dripping hair.

"Let's go then." Calleigh said getting up and opening the door.

A few minutes later Ryan was seated in the Hummer with Calleigh in the driver's seat. The ride was very quiet which Ryan didn't mind that much, since he was still recovering from his hangover.

"Where's the homicide anyway?" Ryan asked, starting to get uneasy about the quiet ride.

"It's in a bar about twenty minutes away from your place." Calleigh said in a less than friendly tone.

"Look, Calleigh, I'm really sorry about all this alright. It's no big deal anyway."

"It wouldn't have been a big deal if you didn't leave a huge ton of paperwork on your desk which needed to be filed already, instead of getting yourself drunk. On top of that, you didn't file my report which could have gotten me into trouble if I hadn't seen it early on. You know the Feds are just waiting for us to make a small mistake before they start pouncing on us."

"I got tired and I forgot about the paperwork. You know what the case was like yesterday."

"You got drunk while you were on the clock."

"I made a minor lapse alright, no big deal."

"The lab could lose its accreditation if anyone finds about your minor lapse. You know that!" Calleigh said as she stopped the car in front of the crime scene. Grabbing her kit, Calleigh slammed the door and went to the crime scene fuming from her and Ryan's conversation. Ryan sighed and followed Calleigh to the crime scene.

"Where were you?" Alexx said with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, thought it was my day off." Ryan mumbled apologetically.

"The dead deserve respect, Ryan."

"What do we have here?" Ryan said ignoring Alexx's remark.

Alexx glanced at Ryan worriedly before speaking, "Girl in her mid-20's was shot in her chest, TOD was 7 hours ago. The body's in the back room."

"Thanks Alexx." Ryan said grabbing his kit from the bar counter, heading to the back door with a heavy feeling in his chest. Shrugging the heavy feeling with his fight with Calleigh, Ryan pushed the back door with his free hand and nearly gasped at the sight before him. It couldn't be he thought to himself as he approached the body for a closer look. Kneeling down he brushed a strand of hair away from her face before whispering, "Kate." Ryan struggled to hold back tears as reality started to sink in and he just stayed there staring at her, not hearing the footsteps approaching.

"Ryan, are you done with the vic?" Calleigh said.

Ryan who was still reeling from the shock didn't hear Calleigh as he sat staring at Kate.

"Ryan." Calleigh called again increasing the volume of her voice.

"Sorry, what?" Ryan said still facing the body.

"Are you done?" Calleigh said.

"No, I uh...can you take this I'll just...do the whole place." Ryan said.

"Sure." Calleigh said confused.

Ryan stood and walked past Calleigh without glancing back.

The rest of the time was spent quietly collecting evidence. It didn't take long as the primary crime scene was the back room which was small in size. The car ride back was also spent in silence with Ryan's face turned to the window. Before long, Calleigh and Ryan arrived back at the lab each heading to different places, Calleigh to the Ballistics lab and Ryan to the locker room. Ryan sat in the chair taking a deep breath, letting go of all the emotions about to burst out. He stood up after a few minutes heading to the sink and washing his face before heading to trace.

Horatio was at the autopsy room gazing at the vic before speaking, "What do we have here Alexx?"

"Kate Larson, 25 years old shot three times once in her chest and twice on her arm."

"Did she die from the shot to her chest, Alexx?" Horatio asked.

"She did. She was so young," Alexx said sighing before speaking again, "I also found semen on her and fingerprints on her clothes."

"Have them sent to DNA and make sure Calleigh gets the bullet casings." Horatio said heading out the door.

"Sure thing,H." Alexx said.

Ryan headed to the Ballistics lab as soon as he was paged, almost running.

"What did you get from the bullets?" Ryan said keeping his voice calm.

"All three bullets are from the same gun, but I'm still checking to see which gun was used." Calleigh said.

"How long is that gonna take?" Ryan said tapping his finger impatiently on the desk.

"Not much long." Calleigh said as she read the findings from the computer, "Killer used a Glock, not registered."

"That's it." Ryan said a bit angrily.

"I'm sure we'll get something more once Natalia finishes with the fingerprints found on the vics clothes."

"I'll see if she's done." Ryan said about to head out the door when Calleigh spoke again, "I'm sure she'll page us as soon as she gets the results."

"Why don't you sit down and take a deep breath." Calleigh said smiling.

Ryan scowled, but sat down tapping his foot impatiently.

"Just relax. Do you want to tell me what's bothering you today?"

"It's nothing, just- Ryan was cut off by the sound of his and Calleigh's pagers beeping at the same time. Grabbing his, he glanced at it quickly before speaking again, "its Natalia, lets go."

Ryan rushed out of the lab with Calleigh trying to keep up to speed with him and before long they were both at the DNA lab.

"That was quick." Natalia said a little surprised.

"Do you have the results on the fingerprints?" Ryan said snapping.

"As a matter of fact I do. Fingerprints belong to Rico Salvador who has a couple of B&E's under his name and a DUI." Natalia said handing Ryan the file.

"Rico Salvador." Ryan said a bit angrily.

"Do you know him?" Calleigh asked.

"No, just sounded familiar." Ryan said closing the file, thanking Natalia before heading out.

"I'll have Frank bring him in." Calleigh said.

"That's good because right now he's our only suspect." Ryan said.

Ryan and Calleigh once again headed off in different directions. Horatio, meanwhile received a call, "Caine,...urgent?...Ok, I'll be right there."

Horatio arrived at the DNA lab just a minute after the phone call, speaking, "What seems to be the problem Valera?"

"The semen sample you gave me...well I just ran it through AFIS and CODIS and well it was no match, so I ran it through...but, it's not like I actually thought it was possible-

Horatio interrupted Valera and said, "Slow down." placing a hand on Valera's shoulder.

"I ran it thorugh internal database just to be sure and I found a match." Valera said handing Horatio the results.

"Mr. Wolfe." H said without betraying a hint of emotion.

**To be continued...**

**AN: **So what do you guys think? Don't forget to review and also if you have any title suggestions please feel free to suggest because I know the title sucks, but I can't think of any good ones.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"What's this?" Ryan said, as he glanced at the file folder Horatio had just given him.

"It's the semen results found from Kate Larson"

Ryan opened the file and glanced at it, surprised.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew the vic?" Horatio said.

"I didn't think it was importantant. "

"Semen results indicate that you had sex with her at least 10 hrs ago."

"I don't exactly remember what happened last night. I woke up this morning in bed and I don't really remember having sex or anything that happened last night. I was drinking last night."

"How do you know Kate?"

"I got to know her when I first came to Miami. I stopped over a bar on the way home. I came almost every night, not to drink all the time, but to talk with her."

"Were you in a romantic relationship with her?"

"No, we flirted, but last night was the first time we actually did something further than that."

"What about Rico Salvador, do you know him?" Horatio said handing another file at Ryan.

"He owns the bar."

"Did you know him personally?"

"I guess you could call us friends."

"Was he and Kate on bad terms with each other?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Mr. Wolfe, if you know anything else you're going to have to tell me, so I can help you."

"I don't. I just want to find Kate's killer." Ryan said standing up.

"You know from protocol that I'm going to have to remove you from this case. You're on desk duty."

"H, I don't think that's a good idea. I think I can really help with this case."

"You're too involved, but you know that we will do everything to find her killer."

"I know."

"Good. I have to go. You know where to reach me if you know anything else." Horatio said leaving his office.

Ryan sighed, and headed to his desk. He sat down and turned on the computer and started typing information from previous cases. He was trying hard to concentrate, but he couldn't stop thinking about the Kate and the whole case, so he got up and left. He got his car keys and drove, just going around in circles, then he drove to the bar. Arriving after a few minutes, he took the keys out of the ignition and locked the car. He walked to the bar and opened the door and walked in seeing Rico behind the counter.

"What are you doing here? This is a crime scene, you're not suppose to be here."

"Neither are you. I suppose you're here to ask me about Kate."

"Damn, right I am. " Ryan said angrily.

"I suppose you think I killed her and why do you think I would do that."

"Maybe, she was going to the police about your little operation in the back."

"I highly doubt that, as she is involved in it as much as I am and, so are you."

"What do you mean?"

"Kate was receiving part of the profits."

"Well you paid her salary, of course she was receiving part of the profits." Ryan said hoarsely.

"You know what I mean. She received 10."

"She always tried to stop me from gambling."

"Maybe, she felt guilty for having to take your money."

"Bullshit. She wouldn't do that." Ryan said taking Rico by the scruff of his neck and slamming him against the wall.

"Ok. I was just jo…

Rico's words were cut by Frank who immediately entered after seeing that the crime scene tape was cut pulled his gun from the holster.

"Rico Salvador! MDPD here put your…

"Ryan, what the hell are you doing?" Frank said after seeing Ryan holding Rico's shirt.

"Rico and I were just talking about what he was doing here." Ryan said casting Rico a glare.

"Get out of here Wolfe and Rico you're coming with me to the station." Frank said taking Rico by the arm.

Ryan left and drove back to the station. He parked the car and took the elevator up to the lab. He was on his way to his desk when he was met by Stetler.

"You don't think I would have heard about you little rendezvous with Rico Salvador by now would you?" Stetler said entering the interrogation room.

"No, I guess not." Ryan said following Stetler inside the interrogation room.

"You were assigned to desk duty and you leave while you were on the clock to meet up with him. You were caught grabbing him by his shirtneck and that little stunt of yours just got you suspended with no pay for a week. The next time I see you meddling in this case, it's going to be more than a suspension." Stetler said.

"I lost my temper okay, I don't think a suspension is really necessary. I will personally apologize to him and I will keep my distance." Ryan said rather apologetically.

"I think it's a little too late for that now. I don't want to see you anywhere near him or this case. Do you understand me, Wolfe?" Stetler said glaring at Ryan.

"Yeah, I do." Ryan said angrily, leaving the interrogation room.

Ryan left the interrogation only to be met by Rico who was on his way to the other interrogation room. Rico glared at Ryan before entering the room. Eric and Calleigh entered the room a few minutes after Rico.

"What am I even doing here?" Rico said.

"You were caught trespassing." Eric said.

"I own that bar."

"It's a crime scene, what were you doing there?" Calleigh said.

"I was getting my things which you guys didn't give me the chance to."

"Everything in that place is evidence." Calleigh said.

"Looks like you're not only going to be charged with trespassing, but tampering with evidence." Eric said.

"I only got the money out of the cash register."

"Don't you usually do that before you close up?"

"I forgot."

"The money from the cash register was only 50 bucks."

"That's a lot of money. Look do you actually have anything on me cos' if not you're wasting my time."

Eric and Calleigh looked at each other and Calleigh said, "You can go."

Rico stood up and left.

Eric looked at Calleigh and said, "What about the fingerprints?"

"It's not enough to hold him."

"Don't we have anything else on him. "

"No, we'll have to get back to crime scene and check whatever he was looking for." Calleigh said.

"I'll drive." Eric said.

Eric and Calleigh hopped into the police issued Hummer and after a few minutes arrived at the bar. Calleigh went behind the counter and started looking through the shelves behind the counter.

"Find anything?" Eric said who was in the backroom.

"Not yet."

"I think I got something." Eric said.

"What is it?" Calleigh said approaching Eric.

"I found an envelope filled with money inside one of the beer cartons here."

"How much money is in there?" Calleigh said.

"About 5 gran." Eric said flipping through the money.

I don't think a bar like this could make 5 gran." Calleigh said.

"Let's get to this to lab for processing then let's have QD check Rico's accounts."

"Alright." Calleigh said packing up her kit.

Eric resealed the crime scene and with Calleigh went back to the lab.

"It's good you're back, because I found something interesting about Rico's bank accounts. He's been making really big deposits which doesn't match up with his income from the bar." Natalia said.

"How much?" Calleigh said.

"About, $10,000 to $50,000" Natalia said.

"How often?" Eric said.

"Every month." Natalia said.

"Any idea what it could be?" Eric said.

"No, but I don't thinks it's drugs because if it was there would be bigger amounts and I don't see him as someone who'd risk that." Natalia said.

"What about the vic's bank account." Calleigh said.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Natalia said.

"We'll have to bring Rico in again." Eric said.

"Did you get anything from the crime scene?" Natalia said.

"We found an envelope with about 5 gran." Eric said.

"He was probably looking for that, that's why he went back to the crime scene." Calleigh said.

"I'll give this to DNA." Eric said leaving Natalia and Calleigh.

"I'll go with Eric." Natalia said.

"Alright, tell me if you guys found anything." Calleigh said.

"Calleigh, Rico is in interrogation room 1." Frank said from behind Calleigh.

"Thanks, Frank." Calleigh said turning to face Frank, then heading to the interrogation room.

"Calleigh" Horatio said, "I heard Rico Salvador is in the interrogation room."

"He is, I'm on my way to question him."

"I'll go with you." Horatio said.

Horatio entered the room with Calleigh right behind him.

"What am I in here for now?" Rico said.

"Mr. Salvador, we looked at your bank accounts and it seems that you have been making monthly regular deposits. You've been depositing $10-25,000 per month and it doesn't quite match up to what you're earning in your bar." Horatio said.

'I don't know what you're talking about." Rico said crossing his arms.

"We have enough to put you in prison for at least 20 years for trespassing, tampering with evidence and tax evasion, Calleigh said, "so you might wanna think about what you just said.

"Alright, I'll tell you. I've been holding gambling sessions at the backroom of my bar about every week, but I sure as hell did not kill Kate." Rico said.

"Did Kate Larson know about what you were up to in the backroom?" Horatio said.

"She did, but she really didn't bother with it."

"Did Mr. Wolfe know?" Horatio said.

"He more than knew what I was up to; he joined in a couple of times."

"Did you have a game last night?" Calleigh said.

"Yeah, and Ryan was playing along with a couple of people."

"What time did Ryan leave the bar?" Horatio said.

"About 11 or 12 I think." Rico said.

"Was Kate with him when he left?" Horatio said.

"She was the one who drove him home."

"Did you see Kate return to the bar?" Calleigh said.

"No, last time I saw her alive was yesterday."

"What time did you close the bar?" Calleigh said.

"About 1 in the morning."

"Who were the other people playing poker with you yesterday?" Horatio said.

"There was Danny, Mitch, Claire and Ryan."

"I'll need their full names and anything else you know about them." Calleigh said handing Rico a pad.

Rico wrote down the names and handed it back to Calleigh.

"Am I off the hook now?" Rico said.

"Not yet. Don't go far." Horatio said.

Rico left the room and Calleigh faced Horatio and said, "What do we do next?"

"We check on the people in the list."

"What about Ryan? " Calleigh said.

"I'll handle it." Horatio said.

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Natalia came in a few minutes after Calleigh left the room. She turned to Calleigh and said, "Did Rico say anything?"

"He gave a list of the people who were in his bar the day Kate died."

Natalia saw the paper lying on the table and picked it up and gasped after reading it, "Ryan is on this list."

"I had Frank bring the suspects in for questioning." Calleigh said.

"Including Ryan?" Natalia said still surprised.

"No, H said that he would talk to Ryan."

"What's going to happen to him?" Natalia said concerned.

"I honestly don't know." Calleigh said frowning as she picked up the file and left the room.

Horatio left the lab and quickly headed to his car, put on his sunglasses and started the engine. After half an hour, Horatio arrived at Ryan's apartment and went up the stairs leading to the apartment's main lobby. Horatio approached the stairs ignoring the presence of the elevator and instead went up three flights of stairs. Horatio reached Ryan's floor and walked a few steps before finally finding Ryan's apartment. He rang the doorbell twice before Ryan opened the door.

"H, what's going on?" Ryan said surprised.

"I need to talk to you about something important Mr. Wolfe."

"Come in. Did you find Kate's killer? Ryan said.

"No, were still looking for her killer." Horatio said as he closed the front door.

"Can I get you anything to drink, H?" Ryan said rearranging the stack of magazines lying on the coffee table."

"No, thank you. Actually, I came here Mr. Wolfe because I needed to ask you a few questions." Horatio said as he sat down on the couch.

"Is it about my suspension or the case?" Ryan said as he sat down on the chair opposite the couch.

"A little bit of both, Mr. Wolfe." Horatio said as he placed his sunglasses on the coffee table before speaking again, "I wanted to ask you if you know anything else about the case because I just received some interesting information from Mr. Salvador. If there is anything else you have to tell me, Mr. Wolfe now is the time to do so."

"H, I can't." Ryan said shifting his position on the chair.

"I won't be able to help you, Mr. Wolfe if you don't tell me."

"I can handle this, H and I will accept the consequences. I don't want to put the lab into any more trouble."

"Mr. Wolfe, you do realize that I won't be able to help you any more after this."

"I do, H and I want to thank you for everything." Ryan said as he stared seriously into Horatio's eyes.

"Take care, Mr. Wolfe." Horatio said as he opened the door and gazed at Ryan before closing it and heading out."

"Is Frank here with the suspects?" Calleigh said.

"He's interrogating Daniel Allen in the interrogation room." Eric said.

"Frank found the murder weapon in Allen's trash can."

"Where is it now?" Calleigh said.

"I had Valera process it for prints." Eric said as he sat beside Calleigh.

"Let's go then." Calleigh said standing up.

Natalia and Eric stood up and followed Calleigh's lead to the DNA lab.

"What did you find?" Calleigh said.

"I found DNA on it, ran it through AFIS and CODIS, but got no match." Valera said.

"Daniel Allen is in the interrogation room with Frank." Eric said.

"I can probably match it to his DNA if I get a sample. I also had Camden run the serial number through the system. I'm still waiting for the results." Valera said.

"Thanks Maxine. We'll get the results." Calleigh said as she, Natalia and Eric headed to the Ballistics lab.

"Hey, guys ran the serial number on the gun and the RO is a guy named Daniel Allen." Camden said handing Calleigh the results.

"Thanks." Calleigh said.

Calleigh, Natalia and Eric headed to the interrogation room and saw Frank outside waiting for them.

"Hey, Daniel Allen just confessed to killing both Kate Larson and Rico Salvador." Frank said.

"Salvador!?" Eric said.

"Yeah, they just found Salvador in his house with 2 shots to the chest and he tested positive for GSR. Alexx is already on her way to process the body. He killed Kate by accident when he thought she was Salvador, he was drunk. Then he went back for Salvador afterwards because apparently he owed the guy about 50 gran and he wanted to get rid of the debt. He confessed when I told him about finding the murder weapon."

"So, Ryan is off the hook." Natalia said.

"I don't know about that." Frank said turning his head towards the elevator doors where Ryan had just come from.

"What is he doing here?" Eric said surprised.

"Stetler, called him in after they found a black notebook in Salvador's apartment. It had the names of the people who owed him money. Ryan's name was in it and apparently he owes Salvador 10 gran."

Calleigh, Natalia , Frank and Eric saw Ryan headed towards them, but he passed by them without a glance and headed inside the interrogation room.

"Mr. Wolfe, you probably know why I called you here." Stetler said.

"No, actually I don't." Ryan said as he sat down.

"Since you don't know I'm going to give you a short summary. First you break protocol by working on a case where you knew the victim, then you assault a suspect. Lastly, you broke the law by engaging in illegal gambling. Did I miss anything?"

"I am prepared to take the consequences of my action. I'll do whatever the department what's me to do, so I can get back-

"That won't be necessary Wolfe. Hand me your badge and your gun."

Ryan just sat there clearly shocked not yet fully comprehending what Stetler had just said.

"I said hand me your badge and gun."

Ryan handed his gun and badge to Stetler and walked out of the interrogation room. He headed to his locker and slowly removed his things and placed them all in the box. On his way out he bumped into Calleigh.

"I'm sorry, Calleigh. I really am." Ryan said as he gazed sadly at Calleigh.

"I am too Ryan." Calleigh said her eyes full of sadness and anger, as she walked to her locker and opened it as Ryan walked away.

**To be continued…**

**AN: **Please review guys they're very much appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Ryan got up from the couch and waded through the beer cans lying on the floor to reach the refrigerator. He really needed something much stronger, but he didn't feel like going anywhere today. Besides, he already spent his last few bucks buying a carton of beer. He really should start cleaning up his apartment which hadn't looked so bad since he moved in. It actually looked worse, but it's not like anyone is going to care. The great thing about drinking all that beer was the fact that he never thought about what had actually been bugging him since yesterday. Instead, he watched tv the whole day, but he didn't really remember what he saw, everything was pretty much a blur. It was a bit great though that he had all this time to himself, but it would have been better if he was actually doing anything important. He was starting to think how even more pathetic he was to be doing this. He really had to get a grip if he wanted to keep paying the bills. He grabbed the trash can in the kitchen and dumped all the beer cans on the floor. It took a short time to pick it all up, but cleaning up the whole place especially where he spilled the beer took double the time to clean up especially with his OCD. He finally finished and he took a long shower afterwards. Then he sat down on the couch grabbed the paper and looked for the classified ads. There were jobs for waiters and other crappy jobs which didn't pay a lot which would mean that he'd never be able to keep his apartment. He turned the page expecting the same thing, but instead he saw the ad for an agency which apparently needed people and the pay wasn't so bad either. He encircled it. That doesn't sound so bad he thought to himself it does pay better than all the other jobs listed down. He should go tomorrow and check it out until he could get a better job. He also needed to stop by the lab tomorrow to talk to Alexx about something important. He had just talked to her, though she wasn't exactly affable which he did expect. It was a short talk very businesslike and there was the lack of the usual how are you questions or Alexx calling him Honey, not that he actually expected to hear it, but it would definitely have been nice. He had wanted to ask about the team particularly about Calleigh, but he didn't think he should after what happened and Alexx's near icy treatment towards him. Talking to her brought back memories when he was a newbie and everyone saw him as Speed's replacement. The other thing that kept popping in his head was the look that Calleigh had given him after he had apologized to her. He saw the look of disappointment in her eyes and that was definitely something he'd never forget. He really wanted to talk to her, but right now it wasn't exactly a great idea and maybe he should let things cool. Maybe tomorrow he said to himself as he laid down on the couch, turned the lamp off and closed his eyes.

**To be continued…**

**AN:** What do you guys think? Is it good or bad please tell me. I know it's short, but this chapter was meant to be just about Ryan's reactions or feelings about just getting fired. This is also is sort of a cliffhanger to what happens next in his life.


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